Buy Cameras Cheap, Fix Them with Lighter Fluid

I love older Canon EOS film cameras.

My EOS 650 feels substantial and solid. It puts up with a lot, while providing what Ken Rockwell calls “everything you need and nothing you don’t.” 

But these 1980s and early 90s Canons have one serious design flaw: Sticky Shutters.

Sometimes the shutter won’t open, thanks to goo smeared from a deteriorating foam bumper inside. While costs to repair aren’t exorbitant, it is sometimes tough to justify spending $70 to $150 to fix something that only cost a few dollars (my 650 body was $30 at Goodwill). But the sticky shutter is the main reason these early EOS cameras are cheap, and cheap repairs are worth the effort. The rewards for doing the work are great.

Here’s a video on how one man solved his sticky shutter issue. Cost of camera: less the one dollar. I can get on board with that!

Step by step on cleaning the shutters:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Manage-Your-EOS-Cameras-Sticky-Shutter/?ALLSTEPS

Fountain at Downtown Park – Bellevue WA

Canon Rebel 2000 with 70-300mm lens and Fuji 400 film. March 2012

Pondering Dock

Chism Beach Dock on Lake Washington, Bellevue WA, 20 Sep 2012 – Nikon N75 with 28-300mm lens and Kodak 200 film.

Mid-Air Bouncy House

Taken with a Samsung Spectrum 20 loaded with Kodak BW400 CN film at Seattle Center. 2012-05-05

Balloon Guardians

Canon AE-1 with 17mm f4 lens and Kodak 200 film.

American Colors, Issaquah WA

Trees are starting to change color in my neighborhood.  But some colors in this picture never change.  Or run.  Canon Rebel G with 28-90mm lens and Kodak 400 film.

February at Ocean Shores

It's cold, windy, and wet.  Regardless, people come out to the southern tip of the Ocean Shores peninsula all year long.  When I took this, the wind was blowing so strongly that sand was flinging through the air.  I got off two or three shots with my Canon AE-1 Program and 135mm f2.8 lens before calling it quits to protect the equipment.

Kodak 400 color film; converted to black and white with red filter in post processing.